Hero, villain, clown: Germany reacts to the fall of Boris Becker
Many Germans have closely followed his financial woes that ended in a jail sentence
It’s been the best of times for Germans and Boris Becker. And it’s also been the worst of times.
Ever since the 17-year-old burst out of nowhere onto their living room TV sets with his historic win at Wimbledon in 1985, Becker has been both widely admired for his heroics on the tennis court yet also widely ridiculed at home for his long procession of troubles off the court.
“Schadenfreude” is perhaps a most suitable German word that describes the feeling that many Germans harbour about their fallen superstar who on Friday was jailed for two and a half years by a court in London for hiding millions of pounds worth of assets following his 2017 bankruptcy.
In Germany, some still see Becker as a national hero while others see him as a clown.
There are those who still fondly recall the joy over watching his dive-filled performances to win three Wimbledon championships and the six grand slam titles that also gave the world a new image of Germans.
But others see a long list of post-career shenanigans that sullied his reputation while also providing late-night comedians with endless joke material. A tax evasion conviction in Munich, failed businesses, broken marriages, a love child and messy divorces have made Becker fodder for German tabloids and the butt of jokes.
“Everyone’s got an opinion about Boris,” said Okka Gundel, a sports reporter for ARD television, in an interview with The Independent.
“He’s a hero for a lot of us, me included, for the way he never quit on the court and pushed himself beyond his limits. But for others he’s been a laughing stock. They condemn him because so much went wrong in his life after he retired. That’s why he’s where he is now – at the abyss.”
Even though Becker has lived abroad for most of his life, and in the UK since 2012, Germans have remained oddly fascinated by his troubles. He told a court in London that his $50m (£39.8m) career earnings had been swallowed up by an expensive divorce from his first wife Barbara Becker, child maintenance payments and “expensive lifestyle commitments”.
Claus Vetter, the sports editor of Der Tagesspiegel newspaper in Berlin, said it is strange for many Germans to see that Becker has such a towering reputation in the UK and in some other foreign countries while being cast in such a dubious light in his home country – even though his stirring first win at Wimbledon captivated a nation hungry for heroes that also sparked a short-lived tennis boom in West Germany.
“The point for many Germans now is that his tennis career was a long, long time ago and ever since then he’s often acted like a clown,” Vetter said in an interview, noting Becker once even tried his hand as a professional poker player.
“Tennis isn’t really popular anymore either. There’s definitely a lot of schadenfreude in Germany about Becker’s downfall. It’s tragic.”
Becker’s most recent legal troubles in London have been closely followed in Germany. ARD’s breakfast television devoted considerable coverage to the issue on Friday.
The 54-year-old was jailed after being found guilty of four charges under the Insolvency Act by a jury at Southwark Crown Court earlier this month, including removal of property, two counts of failing to disclose estate and concealing debt.
“He is in a way a victim, someone who has been in the centre of our attention for so many decades,” Stephan Kaussen, a journalism professor in Cologne and sports reporter, told ARD.
“So many things in his life just spiralled out of control. His lifestyle became so expensive, whether while living in Switzerland, Florida or in London, and he just ran out of money at some point. But we should all have some empathy for him for all the joy he gave us in tennis and no one should be hoping he gets the maximum prison sentence.”
In 2002, Becker narrowly avoided going to jail in Germany for three and a half years after a Munich court convicted him of tax evasion for claiming he was not a resident of Germany, even though prosecutors were able to prove he spent much of his time in Germany. He was given a two-year suspended sentence and evaded prison after paying a €500,00 fine and paying €3m in back taxes.
As yet another illustration of how Becker appeared to bring trouble on himself, the case against him was built by prosecutors thanks to a former Becker fan who was angered by his refusal to give him an autograph. The fan, Hans Gerd, had lovingly charted Becker’s movements around the world in newspaper scrapbooks for seven years. After Becker ignored the fan’s request for an autograph, Gerd turned over to authorities the copious documents showing where Becker was spending his time.
“As far as money and women are concerned, he made more errors in his life than he ever did on the tennis court,” said Thomas Gottschalk, a German TV host who has shared the tabloid limelight with Becker for the last 40 years. “The German public used to cheer him for his triumphs but now it’s become intoxicated on his downfall.”
But Becker has also tried to profit on his demise as well. He wrote a best-selling autobiography in 2003, published in Germany and 50 other countries, entitled Hold On, Stay A While and admitted he was addicted to sleeping pills and alcohol, nearly slept through a Wimbledon final, and also cheated on his wife and German tax authorities.